Something Familiar
by Unproductive-Fangirl
Summary: I've seen a lot of posts about how people think Magpie is Evie. I do not, but I do think there are enough similarities between the way Magpie and Nova grew up that they could create a pseudo-sisterly relationship. Anyway, this is my take on how I think that would happen. It starts with Magpie simply asking for help with training, but it quickly spirals into more than that.
1. Chapter 1

The numbers were starting to blur together, which meant it was time for Noa to take a break. She did know where her limits were and when she needed to take a break, something that no one seemed to understand. She took care of herself. Everyone seemed to think she was overworking herself, but she wasn't. She knew what she was doing, knew her body and how her powers worked better than anyone else, and when it was time to take a break. Right now was the time to push herself up and take a walk.

She picked a path at random, letting her brain wander as she walked. Nova had more or less given up trying to figure anything out by just wandering around the building at night, all of the interesting areas were locked and she had no excuse to give security officers for why she was there if they caught her on the cameras. Sometimes she would go visit Max, but tonight the lights were off indicating he had gone to sleep.

Somehow Nova found herself down by the training area, which was pretty much abandoned at this time of night. Three people were inside the main training area, other than that it was completely empty. Nova watched the three people for a long moment, before turning, planning to slowly make her way back to the cubical she'd been assigned for data entry.

She had only passed through two hallways when she turned a corner and saw none other than Magpie coming towards her. Instinctively Nova scowled and moved to cover her braclet with her hand. Magpie's eyes flicked down to Nova's wrist, before scowling as well, but she didn't say anything.

Nova was about to just continue without a word, but for some reason just as they were about to pass she found herself glancing over and asking "What are you doing up this late at night?"

"None of your business," Magpie replied evenly, though when she stopped to look at at her Nova noticed the surprise and confusion, causing Nova to stop too "Why are you?"

"I don't sleep," Nova raised an eyebrow at Magpie, making the younger girl's face form a scowl again.

"Right," She muttered, and for a moment it seemed like she was about to just turn and walk away, but to Nova's surprise she added "I'm not going to take your stupid bracelet."

Nova looked at her for a moment, than let her hand fall away from her wrist "You'll excuse me if I'm a little wary about the idea."

"Like I even want the stupid thing. Besides, I'm not stupid, as soon as it was gone you would know it was me who took it. I'm not about to bring extra trouble on myself."

Nova had to admit she had a point. Magpie would be the first person she suspected if the bracelet ever went missing. "Why did you even bother trying to take it in the first place? I mean, it's just a metal band, and it's not like you need money if you're living here. And you don't exactly strike me as a jewelry person-"

"Habit," Magpie shrugged a bit at that "I haven't always lived here, but I have always needed to eat. Sometimes I try to grab things without even really thinking about it or trying to."

Something stuck with Nova as she watched the girl in front of her. She didn't want to admit it, but she did feel bad for Magpie, hell if it hadn't been for Ace she would have been in more or less the exact position the other girl had been. Even with the Anarchists food had never been a guarantee, and it wasn't like they always used the nicest means to acquire it.

There was more to it though. There was something eerily familiar about the girl. The way she was holding herself, trying to shrug off her past like it wasn't a big deal. Holding herself defensively despite there being no real reason to...

Trying to shake that away, Nova just nodded a bit and did her best to change the subject "Why are you down here anyway? Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"

"I couldn't sleep," Magpie replied, shrugging again "Figured I'd go train for a while."

"Right," Nova muttered, trying to shake away the feeling of familiarity again "I'll leave you to it than-"

Nova turned and had taken a few steps away when she heard the girl speak again "Will you watch me? Or help me or whatever?"

Blinking a bit in surprise, she turned back to the girl, her response coming out before she could think, probably a bit harsher than she meant "What?"

"Nothing, forget it. It's stupid," Magpie was already turning to head towards the training area by herself.

"No, wait," Nova shook her head to clear it, not sure why she'd stopped Magpie. Maybe because of the feeling of familiarity that she couldn't shake, or maybe because she was looking for an excuse to not go back to entering data yet. Either way she found herself saying "I mean, yeah, I'll do it. But why?"

"Because you're here, and none of the trainers are. Plus, you don't like me, so you'll actually tell me the truth not some flowery shit like the trainers do to make sure we have self confidence or whatever," Magpie shrugged, and seemed to hesitate for a moment before adding "And you're good. Plus, you don't really have any powers so it seems like you'd be a good person to help me."

"You have powers," Nova didn't actually bother to say anything about the fact that she did too. The only power Magpie knew about was not sleeping, and it wasn't exactly something that helped with fighting.

"Yeah, but it's not an aggressive power," Magpie spoke with a tone that made it seem like all of this should be obvious "If I don't get better at fighting they'll never let me do anything except being a human metal detector and helping with clean up."

Despite herself Nova couldn't help but smile a bit at the last comment. "Alright kid. I don't have a ton of time, I should go back to working eventually, but let's see what you've got."


	2. Chapter 2

There was little surprise when Nova heard the door open, and even less when she saw Magpie walking towards her cubicle. Quickly Nova switched the screen back to the data she was supposed to be looking at rather than the personal project she had been. She only looked up when Magpie reached her "Hey kid, time to train?"

It had been about two weeks since the meeting in the hallway, and since than Magpie had come up a few times to see if Nova would help her. She had to admit that Magpie had good instincts, which made it easier to help her. Her technique definitely needed work but that was easier to help with than instincts would have been, and Magpie was a quick learner. Despite herself, Nova was enjoying the training too, it was a nice break from data entry. And, yeah, maybe she was starting to like the younger girl too. Just a little.

However, Magpie didn't answer right away. Instead she just sort of looked at Nova for a moment, standing near the desk. Nova frowned a bit as she looked over, taking in the way she was holding herself. Magpie didn't look like the normal confident girl, and… had she been crying?

"Are you okay kid?" Nova asked, not completely sure why she did it. She wasn't one to talk about her emotions or know how to talk with others about theirs. Anarchists weren't exactly know for being touchy feely. A little awkwardly she added "Want to go punch something? That usually helps me when I'm upset-"

"Not really," Magpie replied, and Nova wasn't sure if it was about being okay or wanting to punch things. She didn't ask, just waited and Magpie seemed to hesitate for a moment as she looked over at Nova.

"Can I sit here?" She asked after finally, and while she seemed to be trying to keep up her sarcastic confident manor, it was clear she was nervous and shaken "You can keep doing your work or whatever well I do, or I can go somewhere else if you want. No big deal."

But it felt like a big deal, and as she looked over Nova knew she couldn't turn her away. So instead, she nodded and gave Magpie a small smile "Sure, there are chairs around. Pull one over to wherever you want. I can go down to the cafeteria if you want? They usually still have some snacks and drinks out at this time?"

"No," Magpie's response came out quicker than the girl probably intended, but she quickly added "I'm alright. Just want to sit for awhile."

"Alright," Nova nodded, watching the girl as she grabbed a chair, but looked back at the screen when she started back to the desk. Magpie pulled the chair over, setting it oddly close to Nova's, but Nova didn't bother her about it. She just kept entering data and letting Magpie watch her.

They stayed that way for a long time, Nova occasionally glancing at Magpie, but not saying anything. It was only when Nova pushed herself away from the desk and stretched that Magpie spoke "Are you going somewhere?"

"What?" Nova looked over in slight surprise, before shaking her head "Nah, just need to stretch, numbers are starting to blur together."

Normally she would have gone for a walk, but Magpie had seemed oddly freaked out by the idea, and it really wasn't that big of a deal. She didn't mind staying there. After a moment she looked back at Magpie, and before she really knew why she found herself asking "Do you want to talk about whatever it is that's got you so freaked out?"

"I'm not freaked out."

"Okay," Nova shrugged a bit. She wasn't really sure why she had even asked. It was just- she understood how Magpie felt. The need to pretend she was fine, but also not wanting to be alone.

"It's really stupid," Magpie said after a moment, signaling to Nova that she did actually want to talk, she just didn't want to say that.

"I doubt it, but okay."

"I had a nightmare," Magpie said quietly, before adding in something closer to her normal voice "I told you it was stupid. I guess you've never even had a nightmare, huh?"

Nova had to fight the urge to smile a bit at that. It wasn't funny, but it was really ironic. The idea that she didn't know anything about nightmares.

"I've had nightmares before," Nova assured, turning fully away from her work to focus on the younger girl and give her a small smile "I know how much they can freak someone out."

"You have?" Magpie seemed skeptical, as if she thought Nova was merely lying to make her feel better "But you don't sleep."

"I can sleep, I just chose not to," Nova shrugged a bit at that "I haven't since I was six, but think if I wanted to I could. I just haven't."

Technically she wasn't actually sure if she could sleep or not, but this didn't seem like the best time to get into the technicalities of her powers.

"Why not?"

"Nightmares," Nova replied honestly "Last time I slept I got such a bad nightmare that I just never went back to sleep. So, I get they can be freaky, if you want to talk."

For a long time Magpie didn't say anything and Nova was just debating if she should go back to entering data when the younger girl finally spoke up "I spent a lot of time on my own. Once my powers showed up my parents didn't want me around. Sometimes I just get worried about being alone again. I told you it was stupid."

"It's not," Nova felt a twinge as she listened. For some reason this little girl was confiding in her. Talking about to her about her family leaving her. About how she was scared of everyone leaving her and being alone. Nova felt guilt building up. She didn't know why Magpie was confiding in her, but she was, and it would only be a matter of time before Nova had to leave her too. Eventually she would have to go back to being Nightmare.

"It's not the same, but I lost my parents when I was young," Nova said softly, picking her words carefully as she thought about it "They died, along with my sister, and I was alone in the house for a long time before my uncle found me. Even know I'm still worried about him dying too. Of being alone again."

Which was true, though it had much more to do with Ace being sick then worried about someone taking him away like they had with her parents. With Evie.

"You had a sister?" Magpie asked curiously. This was really weird, to be telling Magpie of all people about her family. To hear her talking in a way that was so unlike her, no defensiveness or sarcasm. It was kind of nice though.

"Yeah, Evie," Nova's voice was softer than normal as well when she answered.

"Was she a prodigy too? None of my siblings were," Magpie said, before frowning a bit "At least- I don't think they were-"

"I don't know," Nova admitted "She was just a baby when she died. But my dad was, and my uncle is, so it stands to reason she would have been."

"That sounds nice," Magpie smiled a bit "Having a whole family of prodigies around."

"It was," Nova agreed, looking over at her for a moment before softly adding "I'm sorry you didn't get that M- Maggie."

Maggie looked up at Nova, and after a moment just replied with "You too."

They sat in silence for a long time again. Nova turned back to the computer, letting the silence sit between them as she absentmindedly entered data.

"Nova?"

Nova looked back at her "What's up kid?"

"I think I'd like to punch things now, if you're still up to it."

"Yeah kid, that sounds like a good plan."


	3. Chapter 3

"You're good with her."

Nova turned away from the window that looked into the training area to see Adrian coming to a stop next to her. Normally he wouldn't have been able to sneak up on her like that, but she had been distracted watching Maggie spar with another kid her age.

"What do you mean?" Nova asked, mostly because of surprise.

"Magpie, you're good with her," Adrian shrugged "It's just sort of surprising given how much you seemed to dislike her. And- I mean- no offence but you don't really seem like you'd be super great with kids."

"I'm not," Nova agreed, not really sure how to respond "I'm just helping her train at night sometimes. It's a nice break from data entry sometimes."

"Yeah, but you're good at it, and training kids isn't always the easiest thing to do," He shrugged again.

"I'm mostly just mimicking how I used to train," Nova shrugged as well. That was sort of true, but she also realized it wasn't fully. To a degree it was, the moves and ideas were the same she had learned, but the way she trained her wasn't. Nova wasn't exactly nice when they were training, but she also wasn't nearly as pushy as Leroy and Ingrid had been. She didn't push Maggie passed when she wanted to train, and focused mostly on hand to hand rather than working with any sort of weapons.

"How did you train?" Adrian asked curiously as he looked over at her.

"What do you mean?" Despite herself Nova felt a slight defensiveness. It felt like Adrian had somehow been hearing what she was thinking.

"I mean, you're really good, right? So, how did you get that good?" Adrian raised an eyebrow "Did your uncle teach you, or how did you learn?"

"Oh- um- yeah, my uncle taught me some stuff," the reply was more awkward than Noa would have liked, "But I also just kind of learned a lot about it on my own. Eight extra hours in the day with nothing to do after all."

"But your uncle didn't want you to be a Renegade?" Adrian asked, still looking at her curiously.

"No, but he still wanted me to be able to defend myself," Nova, shrugged "Especially after-"

She cut herself off. Adrian hesitated for a second, before moving to take her hand. Nova was surprised, but she didn't pull away. It helped keep her grounded, not letting her brains spiral into memories.

There was a long pause, before Adrian spoke, his voice much softer "She's about the same age Evie would be, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Nova admitted, before shaking her head when she realized what he was getting at "And I know what you're thinking. I'm not thinking of her as a replacement sister or something weird like that. I'm just helping her train."

"Okay," Adrian agreed, though he was still looking at her curiously. After a moment he added "But maybe there's something to be said about sisterly instincts not just going away."

"Do I seem overly sisterly to you?" Nova shot back before she could really think about it.

"Not with most people," Adrian agreed, seeming to think for a moment before speaking again "But I wouldn't expect you to express sisterly feelings in the way most people do anyway. The way you act with Maggie- yeah I could see that being your version of sisterly."

"You do realize saying I don't express things the same way as other people isn't exactly flattering, right?" Nova muttered, though it was more to buy times to figure out what to say than because she was really offended by it.

"It's not a bad thing, just you," Adrian shrugged, giving her an awkward smile, and it seemed genuine.

"I guess you've got a point," Nova muttered a little reluctantly, before adding "About the emotions thing- I'm not using Maggie as like a replacement sister or whatever."

"Alright," Adrian nodded, apparently deciding to let it drop, though he said it in a way that Nova knew meant he didn't buy it.

Sighing, she reluctantly turned to give him her full attention "She doesn't remind me of Evie. Honestly I rarely picture Evie any older than a baby, and when I do I don't picture her like-"

She cut herself off, realizing what she was about to say. However, Adrian was less likely to just let it go now "Like Magpie?"

Nova hesitated, looking over at Adrian for a moment, part of her wanting to just agree and be done with it, but before that side could win out she said "I don't picture her like me."

When she picture Evie as anything other than a baby, which was rare in and of itself, she didn't like to picture her growing up in subway tunnels or learning to fight when she was six years old. Instead Nova pictured taking her to the park, or going on walks under the stars. Part of her knew it was unlikely, that if Evie had lived she would likely have grown up be exactly the same as her, but she didn't focus on that. There was no point.

When Adrian didn't respond Nova sighed, looking over at Maggie for a second before looking back at him "Maggie reminds me a lot more of what I was like as a kid then how I picture Evie. Determined to prove myself. Practicing whenever I could. Using it to process bad thoughts and emotions-"

Adrian squeezed her hand a bit "So you decided to help her, because you know what she's going through."

"Yeah, I guess so-" Nova murmured, her focus on Maggie as she thought about it. Honestly she wasn't sure it was that deep, it had mostly been a spur of the moment decision to help Maggie train. Maybe there was something to what Adrian was saying though, if not the reason she had started to help her than the reason she continued to.

After a long pause she finally shook her head a bit "We should probably head back- the others are going to be waiting for us."


End file.
